Movies have always captivated me ever since I was child. What started as a love for fairytales and Disney movies has evolved into a love for the storytelling capabilities and because of my chosen profession the set designs and the details you would miss if you weren't looking for them. While most people are focused on that screen stealing joke, I am looking at their surroundings. The homes, stores and other places these movie characters find themselves in I find completely fascinating.
You've Got Mail came out when I was just starting to watch PG-13 movies. I can remember being captivated by this amazing storyline but I also remember looking at Meg Ryan's character, Kathleen Kelly, and wanting to be her. While essentially the life that she knew was crashing down with the closing of her bookstore, she had this FABULOUS brownstone in NYC, what little girl didn't want to live in the heart of New York. This was long before Carrie Bradshaw and her friends had hit that scene so my ten year old self wanted to be Kathleen Kelly in some way.
Fast forward to fifteen years later, my dream has changed but my love for the fabulous things in life hasn't. After recently being snowed in thanks to Nemo, I pulled this DVD off the shelf and decided to re-watch it. Every time I watch a movie that I haven't seen in awhile I always notice different things. This time I was really watching the stylizing of Kathleen Kelly's brownstone, simply put, shabby chic at it's finest. While this isn't my favorite interior design style, I appreciate it for what it is, a style, which rings true to the entire movie.
Allow me to help you "Shop the Set" of this classic love story by sharing some of the great finds that are inspired by the movie, You've Got Mail.
1. This white enamel colander is just like the one in Kathleen Kelly's kitchen. 2. Her apartment is filled with different sort of prints like this floral arrangement. 3. While all of her correspondences with Joe are via AOL, Kathleen has an old typwriter like this one to write her childrens book. 4. "I love daisies.. They're so friendly. Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower", one of my favorite lines in the movie. 5. This flower delight pillow would fit in perfectly with her flowerly Laura Ashley decor. 6. Pride and Prejudice is brought up a few times throughout the movie, this is actually a clutch from kate spade new york, love it! 7. Another great find these wood lamps are very reminiscent of the two that flank her dresser in the picture below. 8. One of my favorite scenes in the movie takes place in Zabar's, where Kathleen doesn't have cash in the cash only line and Joe swoops in to save the day. 9. This occasional chair is a dead ringer for the one that she has at her desk in the picture below. 10. The epitome of shabby chic is in this loveseat, oversized with that slip cover look, so much like all of the furniture in her apartment.
Kathleen Kelly's Upper West Side brownstone is country shabby chic defined. This movie takes you back to a time to when people used to utter things like, "I go on line, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three words: You've got mail", it's impossible not to feel nostalgic at the sound of the screeching AOL dialup.
Until next time, make sure everyday you do something kreative!
xo Kristina
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